Representing complex numbers as (a,b) vs. a+bi

As a note, the book suggests that the TI-86 represents the complex number a+bi as (a,b). This is indeed the case, but this alternate representation is not at all unique to the TI-86. This same representation is used in a number of programming languages and in many textbooks. That is we often find situations where

5+7i is represented as (5,7)
2i is represented as (0,2)
5 is represented as (5,0)
– 4+3i is represented as (– 4,3)
6–9i is represented as (6,– 9)

PRECALCULUS: College Algebra and Trigonometry
© 2000 Dennis Bila, James Egan, Roger Palay